Infrastructure

California

READ THE LATEST ON CA'S BULLET TRAIN

Iowa senator looks to throw the emergency brake on far overbudget spending on out-of-control train projects

California is in dire need of federal funds to keep its high-speed rail dream alive. But a Midwestern senator is standing athwart the “gravy train” yelling stop. Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst recently introduced the Put the Brakes on Boondoggles Act, a to-the-point bill to withhold federal aid from transit construction ...
Book

New PRI Book Release

State Planners Focus Too Much on Social Engineering Rather Than Transportation Engineering

NEW PRI BOOK RELEASE PUTTING CUSTOMERS FIRST Re-Envisioning Our Approach to Transportation Planning Steven Greenhut State Planners Focus Too Much on Social Engineering Rather Than Transportation Engineering Focus Should Be Easing Gridlock, Not Prodding People Out of Cars State and local transportation officials are planning transportation projects around social engineering, ...
Blog

A To-Do List for the California Legislature

When Californians go to the polls in November, they will be choosing from many new faces seeking to represent them in the state legislature. Thanks to redistricting and a wide swath of retirements, there will be at least 22 new State Assembly Members elected this fall and 10 new State ...
Blog

Jumpin’ Jack Flash Can’t Get No Gas

Los Angeles will possibly be among the few cities in the world to outlaw the construction of new gas stations if a proposed policy change is approved by the City Council. Since Los Angeles is arguably the virtue-signaling capital of the world, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t happen. ...
Blog

Despite Sunday Late Night Tax Rebate Deal, Gas Tax Still Going Up

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders announced Sunday that they had finally reached agreement on a tax rebate plan.  How to give Californians relief from high gas prices and rising inflation had been a key sticking point holding up the budget’s enactment. The unusual release of the plan ...
Blog

High Speed Rail Update: Cost Projections Go Up Yet Again

Trains played a central role in the development of California. The transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, was key in transforming ​​California, then a state for 19 years, “from a once-isolated place to a major economic and political force, and helped lead to the state’s rapid growth.” In the early 21st ...
Blog

No Investigation Needed – Government Energy Policy Fuels Record-High Gas Prices

Angry drivers paying record gas prices this year – surpassing $7 per gallon in parts of California – are demanding action from elected officials to lower gas prices. Surprisingly, Sacramento Democrats have hung onto this scorching hot political potato for months.  Democrat legislative leaders have rejected pleas from Republicans and ...
Commentary

Promote Regulatory Certainty By Reauthorizing UFA

The House passed bipartisan legislation last week that could help reduce costs and ensure continued innovation for the future. While this legislation might not be covered as extensively as other issues, it nonetheless represents meaningful progress. This week, the Senate HELP Committee passed the Senate version, the Food and Drug ...
Commentary

Empower Entrepreneurs To Improve Outcomes: The Case Of Integrated Care

Entrepreneurs, empowered by competitive markets, drive economic progress. When market regulations incentivize productive activities, entrepreneurs radically improve existing goods and services and create new products we never knew that we couldn’t live without. The wrong regulatory structures misalign these positive incentives. They thwart or misappropriate entrepreneurial efforts resulting in lost ...
Blog

Oh Canada! Oh California! – Climate Change and the Wildfire Season

I’ve just returned from a train vacation through the Canadian Rockies. They were truly majestic – I felt a little closer to heaven. Thanks to an unusually cold spring, the Rockies were still snow-capped and glistening.  It was also that time of the year when the wildlife was out and ...
California

READ THE LATEST ON CA'S BULLET TRAIN

Iowa senator looks to throw the emergency brake on far overbudget spending on out-of-control train projects

California is in dire need of federal funds to keep its high-speed rail dream alive. But a Midwestern senator is standing athwart the “gravy train” yelling stop. Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst recently introduced the Put the Brakes on Boondoggles Act, a to-the-point bill to withhold federal aid from transit construction ...
Book

New PRI Book Release

State Planners Focus Too Much on Social Engineering Rather Than Transportation Engineering

NEW PRI BOOK RELEASE PUTTING CUSTOMERS FIRST Re-Envisioning Our Approach to Transportation Planning Steven Greenhut State Planners Focus Too Much on Social Engineering Rather Than Transportation Engineering Focus Should Be Easing Gridlock, Not Prodding People Out of Cars State and local transportation officials are planning transportation projects around social engineering, ...
Blog

A To-Do List for the California Legislature

When Californians go to the polls in November, they will be choosing from many new faces seeking to represent them in the state legislature. Thanks to redistricting and a wide swath of retirements, there will be at least 22 new State Assembly Members elected this fall and 10 new State ...
Blog

Jumpin’ Jack Flash Can’t Get No Gas

Los Angeles will possibly be among the few cities in the world to outlaw the construction of new gas stations if a proposed policy change is approved by the City Council. Since Los Angeles is arguably the virtue-signaling capital of the world, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t happen. ...
Blog

Despite Sunday Late Night Tax Rebate Deal, Gas Tax Still Going Up

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders announced Sunday that they had finally reached agreement on a tax rebate plan.  How to give Californians relief from high gas prices and rising inflation had been a key sticking point holding up the budget’s enactment. The unusual release of the plan ...
Blog

High Speed Rail Update: Cost Projections Go Up Yet Again

Trains played a central role in the development of California. The transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, was key in transforming ​​California, then a state for 19 years, “from a once-isolated place to a major economic and political force, and helped lead to the state’s rapid growth.” In the early 21st ...
Blog

No Investigation Needed – Government Energy Policy Fuels Record-High Gas Prices

Angry drivers paying record gas prices this year – surpassing $7 per gallon in parts of California – are demanding action from elected officials to lower gas prices. Surprisingly, Sacramento Democrats have hung onto this scorching hot political potato for months.  Democrat legislative leaders have rejected pleas from Republicans and ...
Commentary

Promote Regulatory Certainty By Reauthorizing UFA

The House passed bipartisan legislation last week that could help reduce costs and ensure continued innovation for the future. While this legislation might not be covered as extensively as other issues, it nonetheless represents meaningful progress. This week, the Senate HELP Committee passed the Senate version, the Food and Drug ...
Commentary

Empower Entrepreneurs To Improve Outcomes: The Case Of Integrated Care

Entrepreneurs, empowered by competitive markets, drive economic progress. When market regulations incentivize productive activities, entrepreneurs radically improve existing goods and services and create new products we never knew that we couldn’t live without. The wrong regulatory structures misalign these positive incentives. They thwart or misappropriate entrepreneurial efforts resulting in lost ...
Blog

Oh Canada! Oh California! – Climate Change and the Wildfire Season

I’ve just returned from a train vacation through the Canadian Rockies. They were truly majestic – I felt a little closer to heaven. Thanks to an unusually cold spring, the Rockies were still snow-capped and glistening.  It was also that time of the year when the wildlife was out and ...
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